Spreading a message of hope to others

Student newspaper seeks to bring good news.

Student newspaper seeks to bring good news.

February 01, 2009|By KATHRYN PRATER Lansing State Journal

OKEMOS, Mich. -- With all the bad news out there, 10-year-old Rebecca Saur said she just wants to give people hope. She and 44 other fifth-graders at Wardcliff Elementary School in Okemos are working on the second edition of a student newspaper, called "Hope from Kids." "You don't see much good stuff in newspapers anymore, and this kind of gives you new hope," Saur said. Besides, she said, "I've always wanted to write articles. Actually, I can kind of see myself being a newspaper article writer. This is really fun." The kids, who are from two classes, published an eight-page first edition in December. It contained articles about people at the school and in the community who are making the world a better place, said Sheryl Hudler, who teaches fifth-grade language arts and social studies. Headlines included, "Sharing holiday cheer with choir voices" and "My dad helps people." "We're facing so many problems in the world today. I wanted the kids to not just report on what the problems are, but how to fix the problems," Hudler said. "I want to empower them so they have a sense they can change the world. There is hope." The kids write 15 to 20 articles for each edition, said Emily Santure, a Michigan State University intern at the school who formats the newspaper and edits the articles. "We're trying to spread positive news, like the idea of pay it forward, so we get people thinking positively rather than negatively," Hudler said. The Okemos Education Foundation gave the school a $1,000 grant to purchase five AlphaSmart mini-laptops for typing articles, Santure said. Ten-year-old Harrison Ramsey finished typing an article about his dad, an animal ophthalmologist. "He's saved a lot of animals' lives," he said. And Lucian Donohue, 11, drew a newspaper cartoon showing then-President-elect Barack Obama's moving truck on its way to the White House. "Obama will get America hope and get America out of this crisis," he said.